


Learning to Fly

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Akoya is Yellow Pearl, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Black and White soulmate AU, Cancer, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional pain, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Human Amethyst, Human Garnet, Human Pearl, Human Peridot (Steven Universe), Human Rose Quartz, Human Ruby, Human Sapphire, Human gems, Italian Lapis, Jasper has a twin, Jasper isn't a bad person in this dont worry, Lapis needs a hug, Minor Character Death, Pearl triplets, Peridot is a Nerd, Rape Recovery, Recovery, Self-Harm, Soulmate AU, Steven brings everyone together, Steven the Matchmaker, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, it might turn NSFW, lapidot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 09:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7097500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lapis, giving into peer pressure from a 'friend', ended up at a party at the end of her sophomore year. When she gets drunk (because, of course, more peer pressure), and her inhibitions lowered, she gets assaulted. A month later, the only person she had left in her life dies of terminal cancer. Now alone, Lapis is broken. But everyone finds a way to recover, and after a new student comes to her school, Lapis realizes she isn't so alone anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lapis

**Author's Note:**

> So I was reading Speak in my English class, and it gave me the idea to write this. I also wanted to write the soulmate AU since Barn Mates, and I finally have. And I'm doing my best to do a good job on this, since normally I'm a shit writer.

Everything was loud, too loud in fact. It made Lapis’ ears hurt. People were dancing, drinking, laughing. And the smell of alcohol and vomit was overpowering. She didn’t know why she allowed Akoya to bring her here. She hated parties and the values were off for her. The blacks, whites, and greys were too much on her eyes. 

“Hey Lapis! Try this!” Akoya handed her a glass bottle, and when she read the label she shook her head. It was fireball whiskey, and she didn’t want to break the law.

“No. No I’m not going to drink.” She spoke firmly, and handed the bottle back to Akoya.

“Oh come on Lapis, it’s a party! Let loose and have some fun!” Akoya urged the bottle back into Lapis’ hands. “Don’t be a fuckin buzzkill.” The blonde’s eyes were slits. 

Lapis thought for a moment, before giving in to her friend’s pushing. She put the tip of the bottle to her lips and starting to take large gulps, the alcohol burning her throat on the way down. Akoya cheered her on, and when she stopped she started to cough. Her vision was getting blurry, and her head felt fuzzy. 

“There, now we can have some fun!” Akoya grinned. She then went on to go find someone who’d get in bed with her that night. 

Lapis stumbled through the crowd to find some water, which led her to the kitchen. She searched the coolers for a bottle of water, and when she found none, she grabbed a red plastic cup by the keg. She could drink sink water, there wasn’t a difference between it and bottled anyways. 

After drinking some water, she made her way the the back porch of the house, where she hoped to get fresh air. She ended up running into Jace Biyu, somebody close to Akoya’s family. She knew he had a twin sister, who was just as big, but that was it. 

“Lazuli, right?” The huge grin displayed on the bulky senior scared her in her drunk state. She felt like prey. 

Lapis nodded, her face was flushed from the alcohol in her system. “What’s it to you?” She glared. She went to go back inside, the overpowering scent of teenage hormones and vomit preferred to this, but a large hand grabbed her arm. 

“Hey, let’s have some fun.” He pulled her to him, the grip on her arm tightening. 

“I’d rather not. Please let me go.” She muttered. She tried to pull herself from his grip, but he just tightening it more. 

“Come on, Lapis Lazuli.” His eyes were black, as if that mattered. Everyone had either white, black, or greys for their eyes. But Lapis knew that by the way they glinted, she needed to get away. “Let’s have some fun.” He said against her ear. It felt like acid. She needed to get away. Nobody was outside though. 

“I said no.” Lapis growled. Jace scowled and his blunt fingers dug into her skin. She knew they would leave bruises. 

Jace then grabbed her and forced his hand over her mouth and dragged her to the mass of trees by the house. Lapis screamed, though muffled and barely there through the sweaty hand covering her mouth, and started to kick and punch at the mass of flesh.

Nothing she did helped, and she stared helplessly at the house that was getting farther and farther away from her field of view.  
~One Month Later~

“Listen, we did everything we could, but he’s not going to make it.” The doctor looked at Lapis helplessly. “I’m sorry.”

Lapis bit her lip. “B-but my grandfather is strong. He can fight anything.” She whispered. Not this. Not now. Her grandfather can’t leave her behind because she didn’t have anyone else. 

“Ms. Lazuli, if you want to see him, go ahead. But you can’t fight terminal cancer at this age.” The doctor put her hand on Lapis’ shoulder, but she pushed it away. She hated contact. 

“Doctor Maheswaran, you’re daughter is here!” A nurse came running, out of breath from his rush. 

“Tell her to head up here, and Ms. Lazuli, as much as I’d like to console you, I need to check on my other patients.” Doctor Maheswaran walked to another room, leaving Lapis without company. 

The sixteen year old stood up and walked to the door that led to the room her grandfather resided in. Since her parents died in a car accident when Lapis was ten, she lived with her grandfather in a small apartment. A year ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. Now that the man was on his deathbed, Lapis realized that she would never have anything good happen in her life. 

“Nonnuccio?” Lapis whispered when she sat by his bed. She gently took his hand in her’s. It was cold. 

Her grandfather looked up to her and smiled. “Passerotto!” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are? Just like your mother. She got her looks from me.” He coughed, and Lapis felt the tears forming in her eyes.

“Nonnuccio, I’m sorry.” The tears fell from her eyes and never before has she felt so alone, even when it happened. 

“You don’t need to say sorry, passerotto.” He gripped her hand as much as he could, trying to comfort her. 

“B-but I-” Lapis paused before she started to cry. “Please don’t leave me alone Nonnuccio! I don’t want to be alone.” She choked the words out. Her throat felt like it was closing and breathing was difficult.

Her grandfather smiled. “Passerotto, you won’t be alone. Even in death, I will be with you.” Lapis sniffed and laid her head on the bed next to him. She didn’t care anymore, she just wanted to cry. 

Lapis must have cried herself to sleep, because the sound of the heart monitor flatlining woke her up. 

“Nonnuccio? Nonnuccio don’t die on me!” Lapis shook her grandfather’s shoulders, tears starting to fall from her eyes once more. Lapis called for a nurse, who rushed in almost immediately. 

“P-please come back, I need you nonnuccio.” Lapis whispered, more to herself than the now corpse in front of her. The wrinkled hand in her’s felt like ice, and the nurse put his hand on her shoulder. She shook it off, even if it was meant for comfort. 

“I’m sorry, Ms. Lazuli. He’s gone.” The nurse spoke softly, but Lapis wouldn’t have it.

“I won’t let him be! I don’t want to be alone anymore!” She sobbed, her face buried in her other arms. “He c-can’t be gone. I n-need him.” Her voice dropped until it could barely be heard. She didn’t want to move. Instead, she wanted melt into the air and not have to deal with anything. Everything hurt. She didn’t want to feel it. She didn’t want to feel anything. 

“Ms. Lazuli, I know it hurts. But he was in pain. I didn’t know him, but I know that he would want you to be strong.” The nurse consoled. Lapis just cried more. She couldn’t stop. She didn’t know what she was going to do now. Everyone was gone. She was alone. 

Lapis looked up at her grandfather’s face, which seemed relaxed. “I’ll miss you.” She choked the few words out, and kissed his ice-cold forehead. 

Lapis allowed the nurse to do whatever nurses did when someone died. She couldn’t handle seeing her Nonnuccio’s corpse longer than she had to, and left the hospital room. 

~

Lapis didn’t know how long it was since the day her grandfather had died. All she knew was one moment she making her way back to their, no her small apartment, and the next she was standing in front of a casket, a rose in hand. She set it on the casket, and the family friend of her mother’s side threw dirt on it. 

“Lapis, are you going to be okay? Sapphire asked gently, knowing how close Lapis was to the old man.

“I-I think so. I don’t know anything anymore, really.” Lapis muttered. It was weird to see Sapphire in dark colors, since she mainly saw the woman in much lighter tones.

“Well, I want you to know that if you ever need anyone to talk to, you can always call me. If you ever need a place to stay, I’m sure my wife and daughter would be glad to have you around.” Sapphire put her hand on Lapis’ shoulder, and for once she didn’t push it off. Sapphire was her mother’s best friend, she knew her all her life.

“I’ll put that into consideration.” Lapis attempted to smile, but she instead felt tears forming. She couldn’t help but cry, no matter how hard she tried not to. Sapphire noticed this, and hugged her. 

She couldn’t hug back.


	2. Peridot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sorry this is late! I'm picky about my writing and I have 0 confidence in it most of the time, but here! I wrote this all in the span of 3-4 hours, and I had to post it on my phone. My laptop broke and I'm at my dad's too, so no desktop. So if anything is off, please tell me!

Peridot was tired and sleep-deprived. Not really a problem, though. The sun was starting to rise through the closed Camp Pining Hearts curtains over her window, and Peridot’s alarm clock filled the room. The Star Wars theme broke her out of the trance she was in. 

“What the- huh?” Peridot blinked rapidly, checking her phone before cursing. It was 6:00 AM, otherwise the time she's supposed to wake up for a flight she had. Peridot forgot, hence her time playing Skyrim for two days straight. She saved her game before pulling out a suitcase and quickly shoving all her clothes in it, then grabbed some shit to take a quick shower. 

Peridot was quick about it. The water did startle her enough to wake her up even more, due to how kriffing cold it was. 

She paused when she realized she basically used the Star Wars version of ‘fuck’. Of course that didn't matter at the time, and it never really did. 

Peridot jumped out of the shower and dried off, throwing on a pair of underwear with little aliens, along with a matching skinny jeans, a sports bra (because she was flat ass hell and normal bra wasn't needed, thank god), and a Camp Pining Hearts shirt. She really loved Camp Pining Hearts. And Pierrcy. And Peridot was going to shipping hell for that. 

Peridot ran back to her room and shut down her laptop, grabbed the charger, and put it in her backpack. She didn't question that it was more fandom merchandise. For Star Trek this time. Oh well. She also threw her phone charger in the carry on, and looked around her room. She would be back next summer, to pack everything up so she could get an apartment back in either Empire City or Beach City. She was staying in Beach City with her aunt, Gelb Diamond, for her senior year. 

Peridot was excited, especially because Steven Universe, a friend she met over the hellsite that's Tumblr, lived there. Ever since they met, they'd been best friends. It was also after her father left, so she was in a bad place. Steven helped her though, and while he may be four years younger than her, he was a good friend. She was also a bit jealous of him, as he'd already met his soulmate, and with him being pansexual, he was lucky. Peridot, however, was very gay. And she feared her soulmate would end up being a guy. If that happened, she decided to be lonely for life. It was a better alternative. She quickly plugged in her phone so it could regain the 30% loss of battery. 

Peridot went into the kitchen and pulled the milk out of the fridge, drinking straight from the jug. She put it back, and grabbed a few Oreos. Peridot heard the shower going, and groaned. If her mom was in the shower, she had to wait to brush her teeth. But it gave her time to eat more Oreos. Who needs other food?

After eating the rest of the Oreos, which weren't much anyways, her mom finally got out of the shower. Peridot quickly scrubbed her hands together to get rid of crumbs and drank some more milk from the jug, then ran back to her room to make sure everything really was ready. 

“Peridot? Are you ready?” Corona, Peridot’s mother, knocked on her door. 

“Yeah, I just need to brush my teeth!” Peridot grinned and opened the door, receiving a smile from the middle-aged woman in front of her. 

Corona had dark brown eyes, with shoulder-length curly hair that she would put up in a ponytail or bun. She had tan skin, compared to Peridot’s pale and ghostly skin tone. Of course, Corona was always outside. She worked at a farm a few miles away, while also growing her own fruits and vegetables at home. 

“That's good, Peri. I'll miss you, you know.” Corona smiled brightly. “I'll go get my keys and shoes.” She turned and headed for the kitchen. Peridot just smiled to herself, before going back to the bathroom and brushing her teeth. 

~~~

The flight was around an hour and a half, landing in Empire City. Peridot texted both Steven and her mother, telling them both that she landed. Steven was excited, and wanted to pick her up from the airport when she decided to move in with her aunt for the school year, but he wasn't able to. Her aunt or one of her cousins would anyways. 

Peridot then saw a message from Pearl. So one of her cousins. She quickly texted back, before she received another text from Steven. 

_Hotdog King: Tell me when you land Peri! I don't want to be left out of the excitement!_

_Pierre’s Round Ass: I will, Steven. Like I'd keep this piece of information away from you ;P_

_Hotdog Kink: Good! Do it right after you text your mom!!!!!!!!!!_

_Pierre’s Round Ass: I'm here, finally! The guy sitting next to me smells like rotten cabbage and he keeps letting loose. It's disgusting._

_Hotdog King: Ew, gross! And I have a surprise for you!_

_Pierre’s Round Ass: What is it? Should I be worried?_

Steven didn't text back, so Peridot just put her phone in her pocket. Most people had already streamed out, so exiting the aircraft would be much easier to do. 

Peridot pulled her backpack over her shoulder, then began to shuffle through the aisle behind an elderly woman. Who was taller than even her. Peridot lowkey winced at that.

By the time Peridot made it off the plane, she had a text from Pearl. It told her to go to the Baggage Claim, where she was waiting. Peridot groaned at that. She had never been to this airport, or an airport in general. Aunt Gelb and the triplets were the ones who would visit Peridot and her mother. Aunt Gelb never seemed to like it. Akoya would always suck up to her mother, while Abalone would just hang out in Peridot’s room with her and Pearl. She would be reading all the time though. Pearl was the cousin she got along with most, mainly due to her interest in many things. She liked computers, and they decided to build Peridot a desktop when she got to Beach City. 

Peridot adjusted her glasses and navigated through people and read signs, until she got to the right Baggage Claim area. She spotted the short light hair that belonged to Pearl easily. She was holding hands with a short girl that had light hair pulled into a ponytail. The short girl started laughing at something. Pearl turned and saw her, a smile breaking across her face. Peridot smiled back. 

“Peridot!” A face that Pearl didn't expect to see was in front of Pearl, a huge smile across his face. Peridot grinned. 

“Steven!” She shouted and ran to her friend, getting trapped in a bear hug from him. He was about an inch taller than her, which made her quite jealous. 

“I thought you couldn't come?” Peridot asked, but was excited anyways. 

“My mom let me when she heard Pearl was picking you up!” The two were jumping up and down, laughing. 

“Peridot, which bag is- never mind.” Pearl saw the huge suitcase that was adorned in stickers of multiple fandoms. 

“So now that you know Steven’s here, I'll introduce myself.” The girl grinned. “I'm Amethyst Quartz, Steven’s half-sister. He's probably mentioned me before. I'm also the sexiest person you'll probably ever meet.” Amethyst winked jokingly, earning a sigh from Pearl. 

“Amethyst, are you trying to make me jealous of my own cousin?” Pearl bent her knees to kiss Amethyst's cheek, earning a laugh from said person. 

“P, I wasn't even flirting! You know I'll only flirt with you. I love seeing the way you melt at it.” Amethyst wrapped her arms around Pearl’s waist, causing Peridot’s cousin to smile. 

Peridot was happy that Pearl had found someone, but a twinge of a feeling Peridot couldn't identify popped up. She wished Pearl would at least tell her. 

Peridot’s bag came by, and Pearl pulled it from the baggage claim. There was a struggle, which prompted Amethyst to help her. 

“Are you packing rocks?” Pearl asked, flustered from her display of weakness. 

“It's just all of my clothes, and some other things.” Peridot shrugged. She did in fact pack some of her other things, like her funko pops, some of her small posters, and a couple jars of peanut butter to hide in her room. She didn't want anyone else to eat it. 

“Good god, you must have a lot of clothes then.” Pearl huffed. “Anyways, Garnet is in the car.”

Garnet? Peridot was clear on who that was, but if Pearl and Steven knew them, they were probably pretty chill. 

As the four started walking, Peridot pulled out her phone and checked Pokemon Go. She paused when a Pikachu showed up in her circle. 

“Peridot?” Pearl raised an eyebrow. Amethyst and Steven both whipped out their phones too. 

“There's Pokemon here, let us do this!” Amethyst grinned and the three shorties started to catch Pokemon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -whispers- I tried and this was meant to make you happy after the first chapter, shhhhhh
> 
> Anyways, I have a writing blog on Tumblr so if you wanna ask me anything go ahead! It's Astermic-writes
> 
> I did just make it, and a new Tumblr all together, tonight too because I didn't want to try and clean up my old one. But I like to new one better. My main is Astermix if you wanna talk to me about anything else!


End file.
